DON'T BUY A PHILIPS TV

[jimmy4300]

Well, I've been stung by the flashing red light, no picture bug on my Philip's 50" Plasma TV. I've had my set for exactly four years. The flashing red light phenomena is written about all over the net, and is due to Philip's using crappy components on the mother board. It seems to happen at between 3 and 4 years. Phllip's has been no help. If your warranty is expired they will not speak to you, and you can not get any information at all by trying to engage in a live chat on their web site. This is just a warning to forum members to STAY AWAY FROM PHILIP'S PRODUCTS. I will probably be replacing my TV today. For me anyway, Philip's - Never Again.

[CECAA850]

Thanks for the heads up. Take a look at the Kuro's by Pioneer while they're still available.

[Thaddeus Smith]

dont go replacing just yet ..is the part replaceable? I only ask because my landlord's Vizio tv (part of the furnishings he left behind) went out one day. I was able to track down which board needed replacing and search the web. Many offerings on ebay (though not for my specific part) and I eventually found an obscure source for a replacement board. $200, 1 hour, and the tv was back and functional.

Now, if you are looking to replace in spite of all that I can highly recommend the 6/8 series samsung plasmas. Had mine since xmas and it's been nothing but bliss.

[jimmy4300]

I bought a Display Model Sony 52" XBR9 at BestBuy yesterday. It comes Monday. The XBRs are supposed to have an Industrial Design, so let's hope this one lasts longer than 4 years. I went from Plasma to LCD. Hope I'm happy with my choice. I'll find out next week.

I have CRT tube TVs (3 Toshiba's and a Sony) that go back better than 10 years. There's no excuse for this Phillips problem. If it were just me, an isolated incident, I could understand, but it's a wide spread issue that Phillips has chosen to completely ignore. IMHO, they sell crap.

[jimmy4300]

I almost returned the Sony, because it seemed to dim and I could not adjust the brightness to the level that I wanted. Then I discovered that it had a an eco "feature" to dim the screen when the room darkened. I turned this "feature" off and Bingo, now the picture is great. I also changed the mode from Home to Retail. These defeat the Energy Star features, but create a great picture. Also, the Sony has a 346 page Reference Book which contains much needed information, not available in the Operating Instructions booklet. The only problem is, that it does not come as a hard copy with the set. It must be downloaded as a pdf file, and if a hard copy is needed you need to print it. Sort of ticky-tack. AND, I found this out, because, unlike Philips, I was able to speak to real people at Sony, and these people are not off shore.

Since I could not speak to a person or get any information from a live chat with the folks at Philips, I sent them an eMail. I'm sure I will never hear from them, but at least I got my point across.

[kelA]

I'm sure you can get tons of tips for your display settings @ http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?t=1123817&highlight=sony+xbr9 Probably the number one suggestion would be to take the tv out of the "retail" or saturation setting. However as a down side to avsforum, you will also be opened up to every possible problem that might plague the new Sony. Congrats on the new purchase. .

[jimmy4300]

Thanks for the link.

[toddvj]

Thanks for the warning, but I would have never considered purchasing a Philips TV anyway.

[jacksonbart]

how about a Thomas?

[winchester21]

That sucks- I have a phillips flat screen in the bedroom about 4 yrs old- let us know how this comes out. Good luck

[wscruiser]

Hummmm

I've got a Philips LCD in my "man cave" that I've had no trouble with up to this point.

So far, it has out lived 3 Klipsch CS700 systems, a Klipsch Sub-10, and a VERY high dollar Panasonic Plasma that we had in our livingroom.

I guess I just got lucky on my Philips purchase.

How many people do you know that have had a Plasma or LCD HDTV over say, 4 years? Do they still work properly?

[mistermoravec]

If anyone is looking to buy a philips tv, there is one on woot.com right now. From all the reviews I've read they are fantastic tvs. []

[jimmy4300]

If anyone is looking to buy a philips tv, there is one on woot.com right now. From all the reviews I've read they are fantastic tvs.

And you posted this here? Why? Fantastic TVs. NOPE - They are GARBAGE - And it cost me $3,200 to find this out. An expensive lesson which I am sharing.

[jimmy4300]

Well after my email to Philips, and 2 followups, I finally got an answer, and a request to leave my phone number. I got a call from someone with the title of Presidential Liaison. We discussed my case, and my attempts to try to talk to some one at Philips. She was very pleasant and understanding. She also told me that Philips no longer manufacturer's TVs. I told her I thought that was odd, since I still see them advertised. She then informed me that Philips sold their name to a Korean manufacturer, whose name I did not recognize. It seems odd to me that a company with a world presence would do such a thing. Anyway, after some lengthy discussion, and my furnishing her with a my Model No, Serial No, and POP, and her being able to locate my registration, she offered me a $500.00 settlement. We finally agreed on a $700.00 amount. Though I think this in no way satisfies my out of pocket losses, $700 is better than a stick in the eye.

[BluBitRates]

$700 for a 4 year old tv that was out of warranty...jeez i would not be bad mouthing philips anymore if i were you. You can almost expect service on alot lcds after 5 year. Good for you!

[JL Sargent]

Wow, if you got $700 out of Philips for your 4 yr old TV you should change the title of the thread to "Philips saves the day"

You can go buy a new 42" LCD TV for less than that!

[jimmy4300]

$700 for a 4 year old tv that was
out of warranty...jeez i would not be bad mouthing philips anymore if i
were you. You can almost expect service on alot lcds after 5 year.
Good for you!

Wow, if you got $700 out of Philips for your 4 yr old TV you should change the title of the thread to "Philips saves the day"

You can go buy a new 42" LCD TV for less than that!

You guys are right, Philips didn't have to do that, but, I paid $3,300. for a top of the line TV only four years ago. I'm still using CRT TVs that I bought in the mid 90s and they are going strong. IMHO, since this is a known issue with Philips, they should have had a repair program to R&R their defective circuit cards. I would have been glad to pay a reasonable repair fee, if I was guaranteed success. Philips just buried their head in the sand over this issue. Also, it was impossible to speak to anyone at Philips either in person or on the internet. The only way I got through to them was with an email campaign, and it took close to a month for them to see that I was serious and not going to stop.